Fang Er, with a moment's thought, had already figured out about seven-tenths of the situation.
Be confident, and cast aside the "maybes"!
It had been dark for three hours, and the three of them still hadn't returned. They must have received news from the gatekeepers.
This was clearly a plan to see how Li Shimin handled it, and then decide whether to accept or reject them, right?
Alright, no more thinking. Let's go and see what the Emperor has to say.
With that, Fang Er pulled Chai Lingwu to Li Shimin's side. However, as soon as the old Li saw Fang Er, he was filled with anger.
"Get lost, get lost! You're not needed here. Go back and cradle your baby. I want to have a good chat with Lingwu."
Indeed, after plotting and failing, he had inadvertently trapped himself. How could he possibly mention this matter to Fang Er?
"Alright, you two chat. I'll go back and cradle the baby then."
Seeing Li Shimin's embarrassed and angry look, Fang Er could only shrug helplessly at Chai Lingwu. After leaving a sentence, he turned and walked towards the backyard.
"It's not that I'm not loyal enough, brother, it's just that this situation is truly beyond my ability to help."
"You little rascal!"
*Slap!*
"How dare you bring people home without telling me!"
*Slap, slap!*
"You think it's not embarrassing enough, do you?"
*Slap, slap, slap!*
Listening to the commotion behind him, Fang Er couldn't help but shrink his neck and walk into the courtyard sheepishly.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, Second Brother, just pray for yourself. If you don't die, consider it a win."
Upon seeing him enter, Chai Yue halted the onboarding training for the young women and had Bing'er lead them to a side courtyard to settle down first.
It wasn't appropriate to send them directly to their courtyard before the elders had given their approval.
"You've seen a bit of a mess, my lord."
Chai Yue walked over, took off Fang Er's outer garment, and casually handed it to Xing'er, who was standing nearby.
Fang Er was left wearing only a T-shirt. The people at home were already accustomed to his attire, and at home, it wasn't considered immodest.
"Where is Xin'er?"
Seeing that the little one was nowhere to be found in the courtyard, Fang Er asked curiously.
Chai Yue pointed towards the direction of Baicao Ju. "True Man Sun took her. He said he was giving her some medicinal bath to strengthen her body."
"Holy cow!"
"Could Old Sun be using that little rascal as a guinea pig?"
Fang Er was startled and quickly said, "I'll go take a look."
With that, he rushed towards Baicao Ju.
Since there was no electricity storage yet, any electricity generated by the small thermoelectric power source would be wasted if not used. Therefore, Fang Er had installed light bulbs along the main roads of the mansion.
However, a lantern was placed over each bulb as a disguise, making them appear similar to ordinary lanterns from afar.
As soon as he pushed open the courtyard gate, he heard bursts of giggles from within, which made Fang Er breathe a sigh of relief.
Upon entering, he saw a small wooden tub in the courtyard. Changsun Ling'er had her hands in it, holding Fang Xin up. The giggles were likely because the little one's ticklish spots had been touched.
"Young friend, you're back so late?"
Sun Simiao came out from the small kitchen, carrying a bowl of medicinal liquid. Seeing Fang Er, he asked with a smile.
"I accompanied the Emperor to the city to inspect the hospital and the academy."
"By the way, I heard from Yue'er that you're giving Fang Xin a medicinal bath?"
He walked to the side of the tub, smiled slightly at Changsun Ling'er, and then reached out, intending to take over himself.
However, Changsun Ling'er repeatedly shook her head and refused.
"Duke Fang, please don't bother. If Xin'er were to choke, it wouldn't be a laughing matter."
"Then I'll trouble Miss Ling'er."
Fang Er could only retreat to the side and watch sheepishly. He truly didn't understand this matter.
In terms of nursing, Changsun Ling'er and the others were the professionals.
Sun Simiao walked over and poured the medicinal liquid in his hand into the wooden tub. He didn't waste the remaining medicinal dregs in the bowl, directly putting them into his mouth and chewing them up.
There was nothing that could put Fang Er more at ease. He quickly bowed to Sun Simiao.
"Thank you for your trouble, True Man Sun."
"Your eldest son's constitution is extraordinary. He will surely achieve great things in the future. I am merely forging a good connection with the Daoist sect, so there is no need for you to be so formal."
Sun Simiao then pointed at Fang Xin's forehead. "The formula for this medicinal bath was passed down to me by my late master, and it is excellent for young children. However, the medicinal ingredients are a bit difficult to gather. One ingredient, fish gelatin, is incredibly hard to find."
"This is only possible because your subordinates can catch fish in large quantities. Otherwise, even if your eldest son wanted to soak in it, I wouldn't be able to gather the ingredients."
Fang Er was completely bewildered. "You're using the fish gelatin that I brought back from Panjin for your elder self's nourishment to give this little one a bath?"
"That is top-grade fish gelatin, extracted from the belly of a yellow-lipped fish weighing nearly two hundred catties."
"This single piece of fish gelatin, if placed in later generations, could at least exchange for a house in Beijing's Third Ring Road!"
Fang Er knew that consuming this was extremely beneficial for health, but was it a bit insane to boil it into medicinal liquid for bathing?
"Hahaha, only by making the best use of things can we achieve their greatest value!"
Sun Simiao showed no signs of regret. Watching Fang Xin play happily in the water, he stroked his beard and smiled.
"Alright! You are older, so you have the final say!"
In any case, it was all for the good of his son. Fang Er no longer spoke about the medicinal bath and changed the topic to the matter of doctors.
"Elder Sun, the hospital will be open to the public in two days. Have those highly skilled physicians you contacted previously responded?"
When the hospital construction began, Fang Er had told Sun Simiao his vision for the hospital: it had to excel in all fields and become a benchmark for the medical community in the Great Tang.
Therefore, it was inevitable that they would need to recruit other masters to be stationed there.
Sun Simiao, having traveled extensively and practiced medicine throughout his life, knew many skilled individuals.
Furthermore, he did not hoard his knowledge. Whenever he interacted with his peers in the medical field, he would always impart some of his own expertise. Consequently, he enjoyed considerable prestige within the medical community.
"Young friend, rest assured, they will arrive one after another in the coming days."
Old Sun was well-prepared for this. After nodding in response, he reached into the medicinal tub to check the temperature.
"Alright, you can take Big Brother back now. You can give him this bath once every three days from now on."
"Thank you, Elder Sun!"
Fang Er took Fang Xin, who had been wrapped by Changsun Ling'er, and bowed deeply to Sun Simiao.
"Hmm~ Yi~ Yi~~"
Little Fang Xin also gurgled in Fang Er's arms, amusing all three of them.
Upon returning to the backyard, wine and dishes were already laid out on the table. Chai Lingwu, Chai Yue, Xiao Qing, and Xing'er were sitting at the table waiting for him.
As long as he was home, no one would start eating until he was seated; that was the rule.
Although he had mentioned it to Chai Yue and the others before, it was always to no avail.
Hua Niang took Fang Xin over and took him into the room to prepare milk powder for the little one.
Fang Er walked to the head of the table and sat down. Picking up his chopsticks, he said to everyone, "I told you not to wait for me. If you wait any longer, the dishes will be cold."
"Come, let's eat!"
After saying that, he served each of the three women, Chai Yue, Xiao Qing, and Xing'er, a piece of fish.
Chai Lingwu, seeing this, didn't hesitate. He picked up a pig's head from the table and began to gnaw on it.
Fang Er looked at him and chuckled, "Second Brother, are you trying to eat what you need to replenish?"
Chai Lingwu raised his bruised and swollen head and said vaguely, "My skin is too thin. I need to learn from Brother Pig!"
With that, he bit down on the pig's nose with a "chomp."
ps: Third update, any gifts? If not, can you give me a "chase update" click? It's fine if you don't watch the ads, I just want to satisfy Shi Zi's vanity. I get 20,000 chase updates daily, but only 2,000 chase updates. It's so tragic, 55555555